Chelsea And Real Madrid Are Interested In Yaya Toure

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Chelsea FC and Real Madrid have joined the race for the signature of Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure.

The 29-year-old midfielder has recently grabbed the headlines with his agent revealing his desire to leave the reigning Premier League champions at the end of the season. His agent had warned City that if the club doesn’t offer him a contract by Saturday, he will open talks with other interested parties. Dimitri Seluk (his agent) also revealed that the player might buy out his contract at the club as Toure feels that he isn’t respected at the club.

In all likelihood City are on the verge of losing their influential midfielder, who is looking for one last big contract as he enters his 30s. However, given his age, City are unlikely to offer him a new long-term contract or improve his wages considering he is already the highest paid footballer at the Etihad. Cash-rich French club PSG and Russian club Anzhi were already linked with a move for the midfielder this summer and now it seems like Chelsea and Real Madrid have joined the race for his signature.

Chelsea are reportedly lining up Toure as an replacement for Frank Lampard in the midfield and the box-to-box midfielder has every attribute to succeed in that role. Reports in English media suggest that Chelsea are willing to pay Toure a signing-on fee of £22m, which the Ivorian international will require in order to buy out his contract from the Manchester club. Yaya Toure is currently on high wages, although it is unlikely to deter Chelsea, who have one of the highest wage bill in the country.

Reports from Spain also suggest that Real Madrid are weighing up a move for the former Barcelona midfielder. The Spanish club are looking for another midfielder as contract talks with Xabi Alonso have stalled and the Spaniard has been linked with a move back to Liverpool. However, the question remains, where will he fit in the midfield as he is unlikely to play in the role of a deep-lying playmaker – considering his urge to bomb forward. He is perfect for the role in which Khedira is being played at the club, so will he displace the German from the starting line-up if he makes a move to Madrid? Only time will tell.